Your Pain Is Our Pleasure

Your Pain Is Our Pleasure

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Discussion Forum

This is a forum to discuss the gray areas of the English language for which you would not find answers easily in dictionaries or other reference books. You can browse through the latest questions and comments below. If you have a question of your own, please submit it here.

2.
I like groceries shopping; or
I like groceries-shopping.
Same for things like coat(-)checking, floor(-)scrubbing, etc.

How about:
The groceries-shopping tedium; coat-checking etiquette; etc.
Would it be okay if you don’t hyphenate them?

3.
Behaviour is context dependent; or
Behaviour is context-dependent.
The page is content heavy; or
The page is content-heavy.

Likewise, if hyphenation is required, would the lack of hyphenation make it wrong, and vice-versa.

4.
The end of school vacation; or
The end-of-school vacation.
A not so surprising accident; or
A not-so-surprising accident.

Again, the same question applies.
Especially for the first case, since not hyphenating it would possibly change its meaning: The end of *the* school vacation vs. The vacation that happens at the end of school. Thus, can anyone, without hyphenating it, argue that they mean the latter?

On page 89 of “Eats, Shoots & Leaves”, Lynne Truss writes, “I wonder why?” Many people put a question mark at the end of this phrase, but to me it doesn’t seem like a question. Isn’t it a statement? “I wonder” is a statement. “Why” is a question in and of itself. In this context, though, the question mark is not making sense to me.

I am a student working on a thesis in anthropology and I am quoting one of my informants. In his quote, he says “United States Geological Service.” I know that it’s “United States Geological SURVEY,” not “service.” Should I put [sic] after the word “service” in the quote? Is it obnoxious to do that? Is it necessary?

For the most part, it is accurate that spelling out numbers is wrong. However, in legal writing (I'm a legal proofreader), often it is required that everything be spelled out exactly, with the express purpose of making sure there is no wiggle room for interpretation. Shakespeare had some thoughts about lawyers in Henry VI...

I don't think implies or directly translates to "I do not think" when actually I do think, but "I think you did not" a more positive direct statement or translation. Or "I don't think" so is "I think not" because you do THINK "no".